Lords of the Heavens

Chapter 46 Foreign Trade
After walking upstream for about five or six miles, Penny, who was leading the way, suddenly turned left, passing through a wooded hillside, and came to a valley blocked by bushes. This was a path that had been carved out with a short knife.

After walking a few more miles along the valley, another mountain stream appeared before them. From here, they could clearly see the small iron mine that Penny had found. It was a small, exposed deposit, not very conspicuous.

Anyway, Li Wei had no idea how he would have found this iron ore mine if he were in his shoes.
Only someone as ruthless as Penny, with the added benefit of a professional card, could find her, but the price to pay is...tsk tsk!
"This is the iron mine. Mining is not difficult. Use a pickaxe to knock the ore down, break it up, and carry it away. That means the mining is successful. The most difficult part is transporting it back."

"Also, be careful of the wild animals in this forest. I heard wolves howling again the other day. And don't mess with those wild boars. So far, we haven't found any larger wild animals, such as bears or tigers."

Penny spoke quickly. Near the open-pit mine, Li Wei also saw a simple stone hut. Looking around, the scenery was beautiful, with dense forests everywhere. Some leaves had already turned slightly yellow, but most of the trees were still lush and green.

This is the best season, and the season of harvest.

After putting down their baskets, Li Wei, Penny, and Missy each grabbed a pickaxe and placed their iron spears within easy reach at their feet, and began their daily mining activities.

The small blast furnace that Penny built required about 100 kilograms of iron ore per day on average and produced little steel. In every respect, it was an outdated and obsolete product, but in the current environment, it has become quite advanced.

In three to five days, Penny and Missy will focus on iron smelting to forge steel tools and weapons. Li Wei will be solely responsible for mining ore. One hundred catties of iron ore is considered one unit, and he will need to work for ten consecutive days to complete this month's main task.

It's going to be tough!
-

After an autumn rain, a cool breeze arises, and the lush greenery that had been rampant since the height of summer finally gave way, turning the mountains red with color.

It is now the twenty-fifth day of this month. In the past twelve days, Li Wei has mined a total of 12 units of iron ore, and has thus gained 120 mining experience points and 2 family contribution points.

Ten units of iron ore are required to complete the monthly main quest. The extra two units can be donated to the family or accumulated into the main quest. In either case, each unit will earn a little family contribution, so there is no difference.

However, today is an important day because Penny is planning to lead a team to start foreign trade, which is definitely one of the most important things in the family.

So a few days ago, Fira started preparing: dried meat, flour from freshly ground wheat to make grayish bread, and various ready-to-eat dried fruits—a whole big bag.

These are food items.

As for the weapons and armor she carried, Penny finally made a recurve bow that was of questionable quality, but its draw strength was much greater than that of a hunting bow.

In addition, five more steel cone-shaped arrows were forged for Li Wei, so so far, he has no weaknesses.

However, in addition to the recurve bow, Li Wei also brought a hunting bow with him on this trip, because the recurve bow was too delicate, while the hunting bow was more versatile and suitable for hunting.

Also, in the past few days, Missy has shown off her skills and actually managed to create a chainmail vest. Well, the time was too short, but it fit her perfectly. With a wolfskin robe over it, she looked quite like a tank charging into battle.

Missy prepared a small mace as her weapon and made a wooden shield out of oak.

Judging from the way she can swing a hammer and forge iron, does she want to be a warrior?

In short, under the guise of completing the monthly main quest, she armed herself up; she really knew how to scheme. As for Penny, she only prepared an iron spear, a short knife, and a large basket containing the goods they were going to sell or trade this time.

Actually, there weren't many items: two finely crafted, extremely sharp steel daggers in Li Wei's eyes, and a small object wrapped in cloth.

Well, that's all. This is what their family has worked hard to accumulate over the past month. Whether it's shabby or not, I don't know, but the success rate of forging isn't as high as they imagined.

Those two steel daggers alone must have been forged countless times.
But Li Wei had a hunch that the highlight of Penny's foreign trade this time was that mysterious object wrapped in cloth.

It couldn't be a crossbow, could it?

A thought flashed through his mind: most likely, probably, probably, that's it.

This mysterious atmosphere... could it be that the setting of this world is really similar to medieval Europe, where crossbows are forbidden? Is that why it's more profitable?

Without much delay, Li Wei, Penny, and Missy set off silently in the dim light of dawn.

Penny was the one who led the way, because only she knew where they came from.

We followed the stream southward, where the water murmured and the surrounding area was peaceful. However, the dew was heavy, and as the morning light grew brighter, the fog thickened, obscuring even the distant mountains.

But just like magic, the fog dissipated without Li Wei noticing, and the golden sunlight shone down, making him feel somewhat dazed.

Around eight o'clock in the morning, Li Wei and his two companions had walked more than twenty miles. The mountain peaks that had accompanied them on one side began to become gentler. Ahead was a wide mountain pass. After going around it and crossing several gentle hills, the view ahead suddenly opened up, and they could even see dozens of miles ahead at a glance.

In this vast view, you can see rivers, plains, forests, and even, you can vaguely see, a low-walled fortress. Is that Kachburg?
Li Wei was excited, as was Missy, but Penny led them in another direction with a blank expression. This was not a flat plain, but a rugged path, and the mountain became even steeper. The only good news was that the path looked like it was frequently used by people.

Li Wei didn't quite understand, but he didn't ask any more questions. Penny would naturally not harm him and Missy; that was the core rule of the game. However, they also had to guard against some unexpected events.

So he kept looking around while taking out the bowstring from his undergarments and the recurve bow, which was also wrapped up, to avoid getting it wet, as the morning dew was too heavy and would corrode the bowstring and bow body very badly.

Precision and stability are what he pursues, so he absolutely cannot be careless in these details, otherwise the error caused by a slight flaw may be a matter of life and death.

But in reality, the surroundings were very quiet, and even in places that seemed perfect for an ambush, there was no danger.

Continuing onward, after crossing one mountain ridge after another, it was already noon. Li Wei estimated that they had traveled thirty or forty miles of mountain road since they turned around. Just as he was about to suggest taking a break and having some food, he suddenly saw a wisp of smoke faintly visible in a mountain hollow ahead.

Is anyone home there?
Is there a village in a place where even rabbits don't poop?
Or—bandits?
No way!
Li Wei was shocked, and even Missy's expression was somewhat uncertain, but Penny remained calm.

“Penny, we need to know your plans.”

Missy couldn't help but ask. Although she was a veteran player who had already completed the game once, she still couldn't figure out Penny's tricks. Why would she go to the mountains to find bandits instead of going to the castle market? Was she kidding me?
(End of this chapter)